Wilier's New Aero And Low Weight Racing Rig

Is the Italian brand’s new Filante SLR the perfect compromise? Rupert Radley finds out

Rupert Radley

In a year where the classic cycling timetables have been thrown out the window, Wilier has launched its new Filante SLR race bike in November. Described as an aero bicycle with the weight and characteristics of a lightweight machine, the new Filante SLR Disc is certainly on trend for 2020.

Filante meets Cento meets Zer0

Fans of Wilier’s range will already be aware of the Wilier Cento10 Pro, a top-end, out-and-out aero racing bike. Wilier updated its Cento range this summer with the Cento10 SL, a bike that sat one level below the top-end Pro model.

The Pro model has now quietly slipped away, replaced by the Filante SLR with the Cento10 SL sat beneath it.

If you take a look at both the Cento and the Filante, the two certainly bear a familial resemblance, although there are some subtle differences.

The new frame is less aggressively aero shaped. It still features NACA airfoils and the tubing has a Kammtail design but it’s softer than previous designs and more rounded. Kammtail designs are well known to maintain the aero benefits of the classic teardrop shape whilst cutting weight and excess material.

According to Wilier, the Filante SLR is 11 per cent lighter than the outgoing Cento10 Pro, without dropping stiffness.

The new bike bears more than a passing resemblance to Wilier’s Zero model, the brand’s dedicated lightweight bike. The head tube on both the bikes looks very similar and the rest of the bike’s tubing has the same rounded tubing design. The new Filante SLR doesn’t have the same ‘notch’ where the seat bolt clamp lives.

The similarities are more than aesthetic, however. The new Filante SLR and the Zero share the same carbon-fiber layup, which the brand boasts as offering better bump absorption. The fork also has the same offset design as that of the Zero to better withstand the disc brake forces. However, the Filante’s forks are 7mm wider on each side than the Cento10 Pro. This not only reduces air turbulence, according to Wilier, but it also perfectly hides the rear triangle of the bike.